Jaguar taking motoring to a whole new place
I HAVE to say that the re-emergence of Jaguar as a manufacturer of seriously high-class motor cars, has been something of a welcome revelation.
There have been occasions in the company’s history that it occupied a similar place, but many times too when the brilliant lustre of the brand was dulled to a point somewhere near shameful.
We have, in these columns, previously pointed out the delicious irony of a British manufacturing icon being saved by a company which emerged from the tatters of the post-colonial empire to become a global automotive powerhouse. But we are very glad that this has come to pass, because it has energised and revived a name, a brand, and an identity which never deserved the shoddy treatment it got from a variety of shameless owners — including the British government.
It has been in glowing terms that we, here at Examiner Motoring, have acquainted ourselves with such as the current XF and XJ model ranges, but whatever words of praise we lavished on those cars, they remain as nothing but chaff to the wind by comparison with the acclamation we are about to bestow on the company’s latest sports coupe, the achingly beautiful and mind-blowingly capable F-Type.
Ok, with a €125k asking price, the F-Type S we tested is obviously not going to be decorating everyone’s driveway, but I am telling you now that anyone who has that sort of dosh to throw about, then they should be investing it with their local Jaguar dealership. They should do this for a variety of reasons. For a start there is the fact that the F-Type is the moral and emotional successor to the legendary E-Type, examples of which are now changing hands for stomach-churning amounts of cash.
Then there is the fact it has to be one of the most sensational looking cars ever to have four wheels fitted to it and the surety it possesses the sort of incredible driving prowess that only comes along once every generation or so.
Now traditionalists might cavil that such as the XJS, the XK8 and the XKR kept the E-Type’s DNA line on the go, but the F-Type is the only thing the company has produced in my memory that has truly re-distilled the sort of excitement, joy and passion that once characterised the E-Type.
With Jaguar — modestly — claiming the F-Type to be the most capable production car it has ever made, it is a fairly big claim to stand over. However, having tasted this particular delicacy, I can tell you the eating very definitely proves the pudding.
The monocoque structure is built largely with aluminium and that makes for a strong and rigid configuration. The body is characterised by a beautiful shoulder line, fat rear wheel arches and — pièce de résistance — the swooping roofline which, when combined, make for a thing of wondrous beauty.
The interior is no less classy, although such features as the recent Jaguar bezelled gearshift which emerges from the centre console when you insert the key has been replaced by a more conventional joystick, features like the air vents which emerge from the dashboard when the car is started, add a pleasing ‘wow’ factor to proceedings.
And then we come to the engine. A three-litre supercharged V6 outputting some 280kW (378 bhp) at 6,500 rpm and a whopping 450 Nm of torque between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm, the F-Type S will accelerate from 0-100 kph in 4.9 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 275kph, or 170mph. The engine is mated to a ZF eight- speed ‘Quickshift’ gearbox which can be controlled via the joystick or the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters and which is an absolute joy to live with.
Naked performance figures don’t come anywhere near telling the real story of this glorious beast, but you do get a picture of what’s on offer here thanks to a couple of them: the 80 to 120kph dash is achieved in an astonishing 3.1 seconds, while connoisseurs will appreciate the power to weight ratio of 235 bhp per tonne.
On the road, it displays a character which is probably somewhere between a hairy- chested supercar and a Grand Tourer. There are three driving modes, one for normal conditions, one for slippery surfaces and ‘Dynamic,’ which is the scary one. In ‘normal’ though, some may find the ride still to be a touch on the stiff side, but the pay-off for this is to be found in the handling, which is genuinely impressive. Certainly the panoply of electronic stability systems on the car give you this feeling of well-being even when you’re pressing on, but they are never so invasive as to be irritating.
If evidence was needed that Jaguar has now re-established itself as the maker not only of fast and beautiful cars, but also one which can build cars which can be examined at the highest level without being found wanting, then the F-Type has simply further underscored what we already knew. Few may have thought it possible to get close to equalling the icon that is the E-Type but Jaguar has managed it while taking the essence of that motoring emotion to a whole new place.
Jaguar F-Type
5/5
€125,000.
a burbling, warbling beautiful supercharged three-litre V6 monster.
It is possible to add various uprated braking and suspension formats, but I don’t genuinely believe most drivers will feel the need.
A stonewall classic.
